It's a Promise

Standard disclaimers apply.

I dedicate this fic to Nefas, who named it. smashes champagne against pc monitor watches it fizzle Ugh... you mean we can't name fics like we name ships? Damn...

It's a Promise
Author: XD

--

"Again?"

"YEAH!" Naruto screeched. Well, almost. He heaved a righteous right fist into the air and glowered. "He's NEVER on time for anything! How can I ever become Hokage at this rate? I probably won't even complete enough missions for my dinner tonight! ... AH!!" The boy screeched again, this time with a tinge of revelation in his voice. He turned his pleading eyes to his former teacher and pleaded, "Naa, Iruka-sensei! Why don't you buy me ramen tonight at Ichiraku for me being a good boy for a loooong time since my graduation now?"

"What," Iruka bapped the boy aside with his record file, "has ramen got to do with that?" Off at the side lines, Sakura giggled and Sasuke muttered a muffled 'baka' under his breath.

Naruto took to nursing the large lump gradually swelling on his head where the file hit him and made a face. He then swivelled around and crossed his arms in front of his chest, back-facing Iruka. The Chuunin scratched the back of his head sheepishly, walking closer to where Naruto sat in a huff.

It was one of those days at the Konoha Gakure. The sun was fine. The breeze was fair, and the people were loitering about, minding their own businesses. The seventh team, freshly graduated from the academy, were poised at the Konoha red entrance bridge, waiting for something to happen.

And yes, Kakashi was late. Again.

To say that Iruka was surprised would be a fib. As much as the Jounin was feared outside the village due to his notorious reputation and impeccable track record, here inside the village he was feared just as much - just on an entirely different level of 'reputation' and 'track record'. The Academy teacher sighed and ruffled Naruto's hair playfully, earning him a questioning look from his subject of ruffling. He then stood, helping the golden-haired boy to his feet.

"Well, you ninjas," Iruka grinned and jerked a thumb in the direction of the academy, "you'd probably need the patience you get from this sometime in the future, so just keep on bearing up with it!" Taking a brief look at the height of the sun in the skies, the older person shrugged and turned, "I have to run along now. Not /everybody/ in this village enjoys being late, you see. Take care, the three of you!"

"Bye bye, Iruka-sensei!" Sakura politely waved and smiled. Naruto still had a blank look on his face from since he got pulled up from the ground and Sasuke merely afforded the Chuunin a long, hard look. But of course, Iruka knew the better to expect anything more from the morose pre-teen. He smiled to himself.

The roads of the village were as he had remembered. Occasionally he would stop to say a few words to a few parents he met on the street who were concerned about their children's progress in the academy. But otherwise, it was a peaceful journey back to the school he taught in, the only hesitation being the slight pause in step he had afforded himself when he strode past the windows of the very Jounin he would love to throttle right now, if said Jounin was sleeping at home instead of heading down to meet his team. After hesitating for a moment, however, he decided to let the issue drop. If he hadn't, then /he/ would have been late for his submission to the reception, and that just would not do!

It was late morning by the time he settled whatever it was he had needed to at the reception. As he had no lessons in the academy that day, and no further missions, he trudged his way along back home, meaning to finish tidying up his room and getting down to doing some of the housework he had not had time to do. Retracing his footsteps from the journey to the ninja school, he passed by The Window again, and couldn't help but stop to look up at it.

Yes. Kakashi's habitual lateness was legendary. Even /if/ approximately 3 hours had passed since he met up with the languishing Team 7.

From the viewpoint of an ant, Iruka's feet were two gigantic pillars of flesh, one upright and the other tapping impatiently on the soft, sandy ground, like they were trying to come to a decision about something. It took a while, but the feet moved as if to walk away, but came to a firm stop just two steps down the road. They shifted and were once again made to face the slightly opened window. And then in a small puff of smoke and upturned sand, they were gone.

Iruka knew it was probably, and most fundamentally wrong to be doing what he was doing now - spying on a fellow workmate in suspicion of said workmate's working behaviour. He did not want to know what would happen to him if he got found out - although in all retrospect, he had no intention of letting that happen. Slowly slinking nearer to the ajar window, he camouflagued both his aura and being, confident that his skills were enough for his current action. Preparing himself, he slowly edged nearer to the window and stole a quick peek inside.

The room was unexpectedly forlorn-looking. The filmsy sheet of curtain flapped about in the soft breeze creeping through the window, and the insides of the place was surprisingly well-kept. Clean, well-pressed linen decked the bed, which had been neatly made and showed no signs of a late-comer's hasty awakening. Slightly miffed at that - since Kakashi /had/ been late even before Iruka made his way to the academy - the Chuunin now thought himself fully justified in stepping into the room barren of any sign of life.

His senses began to tingle when he took his first step into the room. This was, after all, a Jounin's apartment, and booby-traps were not entirely out of the question. For some reason, though, that did not daunt him. It was the same, nagging impulse that had propelled him to even step into the room in the first place, which spurred him to further his apparently pointless mission.

With both feet in the room, Iruka took a sweeping gaze around him.

/So this is what his room looks like.../ Was Iruka's first thoughts before the utter tidiness of the space began to bowl him over. /... Well, damn, you could have fooled me./ He started walking, reveling in the sound his sandals made against the wooden flooring. It was oddly comforting to hear something in the seeming dead of the room. "Kakashi-san?" He called out impetuously. Although he was confident nobody was in, it was nevertheless not an absolute confirmation. These people weren't called Jounins for nothing.

Of course, he also failed to consider the consequences he had to face if Kakashi was indeed /in/ and found him trespassing in his personal territory. But when Iruka had righteous indignation on hand, especially when it had something to do with Naruto, however slight, there was no telling what kind of consequences he was willing to overlook.

The room remained unresponsive. "Kakashi-san?" The Chuunin raised his voice slightly, taking a slow walk around the room, still on the look-out for traps. There was only one other compartment, better known as the toilet, in the small room, and after checking that out Iruka turned around to survey the room again from just in front of the proper door to the apartment.

It was empty. As empty as any other room devoid of life would be. The photographs placed on the shelf at the front of the bed instantly caught his attention. He hadn't realized he was moving until he stood just in front of the bed, looking down on the photographs.

Iruka knew distinctly that the first one had been taken when Kakashi was still working in a Genin group of three. And it was no secret that the Fourth himself oversaw the team. He hesitated slightly when he looked at the other faces in the same shot, unable to instantly recognise them. But soon, understanding flashed across his face. /These people were.../ He stopped short of completing his own thoughts. Staring a little longer at the old photograph, he noticed that this particular photo-frame looked like it had been through more handling, was moved around more often than the other.

The faces on that old photograph continued to keep his attention. Finally, with a slight frown, he looked away from it, letting his gaze settle on the photograph beside it instead. Almost instantly a warm smile stretched across his countenance. Naruto seemed happy enough in the shot.

After a few more seconds of looking at the group shot of Team 7, Iruka decided that he had disturbed the tranquility of the room enough. Carefully measuring his steps and checking for anything that would hint at his presence when Kakashi returned, he then slid out of the window quietly, vanishing in the same way he had arrived.

--

The route back home was as pleasant as any other day. The Leaf was a quiet and peaceful town now, although it had its own share of ancient problems. But Iruka was feeling anything but pleasant. The glance he had taken of the photographs in Kakashi's home, momentary as it was, brought back many unhappy memories of his own. And as it was with Iruka, it had to do with Naruto - and the other one within. So deep he was in his thoughts, he almost missed the similar blotch of sunshine blond hair across the road he was about to cross, on the bridge.

A look a disbelief overwhelmed him for a moment, before he settled for a quick-transport seal and appeared in a puff of smoke before the three impatient Genins.

"KAKASHI-SEN--!!" Naruto and Sakura paused when the smoke cleared and they had a better view of who it was.

"Iruka-sensei?" The blond boy blinked.

"Naruto," Iruka acknowledged the boy, turning around to look at the other two ninjas as well, "Well... as much as I would like to ask..."

Sasuke waved his hand, "He's not here yet," and answered the unspoken question.

"Ah, that explains a lot," their ex-teacher smiled, absolutely insincere. "Three hours? I really must commend your patience," he nodded, also absolutely insincere. "Tell me he's not always this late."

All three Genins reared at Iruka, and gave him a Look.

"Iruka-sensei, I demand a ramen treat tonight for all the abuse that pervert is putting us through every morning!" Naruto relentlessly renewed his demand, righteous anger blowing smoke through his ears.

"Don't listen to the idiot, sensei," Sasuke butt in when Iruka found himself at a loss for words, ignoring Naruto's screeches of protest in the background, "it's not like Kakashi's never been this late before, anyway."

"That's right, Iruka-sensei," Sakura beamed and agreed. "Were you rushing off somewhere? Don't let us hold you up!"

The amiable Chuunin smiled warmly at the young girl, silently thanking her for her thoughtfulness. "You're right, Sakura. It seems like I might have somewhere to go to rather urgently at the moment. Take care until your sensei arrives! You too, Sasuke. And you, Naruto!" He roughly caught Naruto's head in a single bash. "Behave yourself! Ramen at Ichiraku is only for those who finish their missions successfully before 8 o'clock tonight!" He gave the boy's head one final ruffle before performing a vanishing hand-seal, effectively disappearing from the trio's sight.

It could have been his imagination, but he knew he heard Naruto's hoots of joy just before the wind swept all other traces of sound behind him.

--

Coming to this place had not been on his morning agenda at all, decided Iruka morosely while sweeping a fallen piece of leaf away from his hair. The gentle breeze, coupled with the lovely aurora rays failed to properly highlight the somberness of the location. He stared tentatively at the long, beaten road of washed-out gray tiles, still sturdily paving a curving path upwards the gentle slope, marked on both sides by tree canopies which rustled softly in the wind, occasionally letting a slightly stronger ray of the sun slip through it's protection.

The Chuunin held his arms akimbo and breathed. In the distance, birds began to chirp a happy tune. /No matter when/ Iruka thought wistfully to himself, /the Konoha graveyards never give off the feeling a place of death rightly should./

Aimlessly walking about a bit, he paid silent homage to the multitude of tombstones beyond the trees, on either sides of the road. His ultimate destination, however was the clearing at the end of the stone path. The clearing slowly tapered off into the natural forests surrounding the Leaf, and had bushes bordering it. Three logs stood upright near the entrance of this particular resting place. Iruka side-stepped slowly around the logs and looked into the distance.

Kakashi stood there, his hands in his pockets, just as Iruka had expected him to be.

With his back to Iruka, the Chuunin could not read the silver-haired ninja at all. Not that he would have done better had he been staring at the Jounin in the face, actually. Kakashi was just one of the enigmas of Konoha that mere observation could not tackle. Iruka suspected that the Jounin had been there for longer than it seemed, but politely kept his niggling questions to himself. He did, however, walk closer.

The academy teacher had no doubt that Kakashi knew of his presence, but he did not pry. It just didn't seem appropriate to interrupt someone who could be in the midst of paying his regards.

Perhaps it was the melancholy. Perhaps it was the tranquility. Whatever it was, Iruka nearly jumped out of his skin when his unlikely companion spoke out.

"Every morning," Kakashi intoned, voice thicker than usual, still with his back against Iruka, "without fail. I come. I stand. I remember." He paused. "And I don't know what else I can do."

There was a long silence after that particular sentence, Iruka slowly digested the information just heard. He maintained his silence, hoping it would incite Kakashi to more words. And it did.

"It was just a promise," the Jounin mumbled, bringing his palms up to gaze at them. "People break promises all the time, don't they? Yet here I stand, time and again, trying to live up to that promise, and wondering which part of my promise have I not yet fulfilled... or could have done better-"

"It is enough," Iruka's firm and solemn voice disengaged Kakashi's random ramblings. The story of the Fourth's team was not well known, per se, among the adults, but with a little research and asking around, it was not that well hidden either. "You commemorate their existence, acknowledge their remembrance. Even if you're just standing here, every morning, staring at their memorial..." For a quick moment, Iruka's eyes turned downcast as he fought with his own conflicting feelings about the matter, "... at least. At least there's still someone who carry on life for them. At least they're still living in the heart of someone who remembers." He looked up and smiled, although Kakashi couldn't have seen it with his back against the Chuunin. Nevertheless he continued, "If that's not enough, then nothing in this world will be enough anymore."

Slowly, Kakashi turned around, his hands still in his pocket, his face still masked, and his single Sharingan eye still hidden by his headband from the world. "You're just saying all these so that I can go meet Team 7 on the bridge earlier, aren't you?"

There was silence at first.

Then Iruka burst into laughter. "Can't fool Hatake Kakashi, can I?" He simmered slightly, and although he still had a smile on his face, his tone was serious. "Kakashi-san, the children have been waiting for you for three hours. If you linger around some more, Naruto will eat you up when you eventually do get there."

"Ooh, that's a scary thought," Kakashi thumbed his chin thoughtfully. "If it's Naruto, I have no doubt that it would be an instant death. I bet he even digests bones." Glancing at Iruka, he saw that the Chuunin had a "so-you're-going?" look on his face. He smiled under his mask, but did not move. Instead, he turned around and got back to staring at the memorial tombstone. "But since nobody's going to remember me anyway even if Naruto eats me up, I might as well stay here a little longer."

"Kakashi-san, you must be really unpopular," Iruka's words were like a javelin aimed at his heart. The Jounin laughed, almost nervously.

"Ah! That's the drawback about being powerful and cool, you see. And-" He turned around, hand on his head.

His attempt to explain himself was suddenly cut short by the Chuunin, who smiled back and said, "But don't worry, because even if you think otherwise, I will remember Kakashi-san," his smile pulled into a grin, "if Naruto ever eats him up."

There was no seeming reaction from the older ninja, but as Iruka looked on, he could see that Kakashi's smile reached his single, revealed eye. "That's a relief." The Jounin said simply, then turned to walk away from the clearing.

"It's not a relief," Iruka said to his receding form.

"It's a promise."

The End
16/10/2003

Door

Warnings: Mild shounen-ai. KakaIru… I guess a hint of SasuNaru

Disclaimer: TT I don’t own Naruto. I don’t even own the majority of opinion!

Notes: This is shorter than I intended. But oh well.

Door

Author: Morien Alexander

Iruka had always preferred dogs to most other animals. So when a strange dog wearing a shirt and a pair of sunglasses approached him in the streets, he didn’t back off right away. It cocked its head up at him and grinned with its mouth open. “Iruka-sensei?”

It took a few moments for Iruka to register that the dog was actually speaking to him. “Y-yes?”

“I have a special request for you from my master Hatake Kakashi.” The dog sat down on his hindquarters and tilted his head like a puppy. “Will you accept the message?” His tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth.

“Y-yes, I will.”

The dog cleared his throat in an attempt to appear impressive and straightened his back. “Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei formally invites you to join him for lunch at the Rice Hut. He says he will be paying so don’t bother bringing money.”

Iruka blinked. “Kakashi-sensei…”

“Would like to buy you lunch,” finished the dog, slouching again into a relaxed position. “Whaddya say? Free lunch, a friend, maybe even a scratch behind the ears?” He glanced with round eyes over the tops of his sunglasses. “How about it, sensei?”

Laughing, the teacher reached down and scratched the dog behind his ears. “Yes, I’ll go.” The dog butted into Iruka’s hand, tongue once again dropping out of the side of his mouth. It felt a little strange to be petting something that talked, but then again strange things tended to happen in the Hidden Leaf Village. Plus it was a little strange to be asked to lunch at three o’clock in the afternoon. But that was Kakashi- always late. With a final pat, Iruka stood up straight and nodded to the dog. “Will you be showing me the way?”

The dog grinned sloppily and nodded before taking off at an easy lope. Iruka followed at a trot, waving at passing children and nodding to their parents. He knew the way well enough to the Rice Hut, so even if he lost the dog, he knew he would be able to get there. Soon enough, the garish red roof of the Rice Hut came into view. Outside, lounging against an ugly green pillar was none other than Kakashi.

The other ninja was reading well worn pink backed novel, but looked up as soon as Iruka began to approach him. “Aa. I see that Neko-chan found you,” he said, waving his hand a little to dismiss the dog.

Iruka raised an eyebrow. “Your dog’s name is Neko-chan?”

“Yeah.” Lazily, Kakashi reached up to scratch at his head. “So, you hungry?”

He wasn’t. “Um, yes, of course!” He laughed and silently cursed his face for the blush that was beginning to spread across his cheeks. “Thank you for inviting me.” He was about to make a little bow when he noticed the other ninja had his back turned and was already entering the restaurant. With a little frustrated whimper, he followed.

Inside the Rice Hut was just as loud and obnoxious as the outside. The seats were all a brilliant orange while the tables contrasted with a luscious blue. Hanging from the low ceiling were fish nets strung with brilliantly colored Chinese lanterns. And, to accentuate the color, steam hung in the air like an indoor fog. In the back kitchen, pots and pans were being banged and loud voices could be heard complaining about the freshness of fish. Iruka winced and followed his companion over to a table towards the back where the tables turned into private booths.

Kakashi sat down and leaned back as if he was comfortable being in such a strange atmosphere. He fingered the pair of chopsticks that were set before him and grinned across the table at Iruka. “Glad I finally caught you when you were free.”

Iruka gave a weak smile, trying to think of when the other man had tried to reach him at all. “So… is there something you wanted to talk about?”

“What do you want to eat?” Kakashi said, abruptly changing the subject. “The food here is really good. Personally, I was considering having the third combo.”

“Um…”

“I think you should get that, too. You’ll like it.” The silver haired ninja raised his hand to his mouth and called out, “Ichiro! Two number threes at table six!”

A rather harried looking young man poked his head out from the kitchen area. “Ah… Kakashi-sensei… I will bring them right away!” With a charming grin, he disappeared, followed by a loud crash and more yelling.

“Eeehh… Kakashi-sen-“

“Oh, I forgot to order drinks. Is it all right if we get them when he delivers the soup?” Kakashi leaned his head on his left palm, propping his elbow on the table. “If you’re thirsty now, I can just call him back out.” He grinned, the one visible eye crinkling happily.

“N-no, that’s…all right.” Iruka looked down at his hands, wondering if he would ever get a chance to speak. Once again, the blush on his cheeks flared to life.

“Good. Then we can talk.”

Iruka looked up quickly and caught a dangerously serious expression on his companion’s face. “Is something wrong, Kakashi-sensei?” he asked, worried. “Did Naruto… was he misbehaving?”

Kakashi was silent for a minute. Then he spoke up slowly. “Do you know that the Red Festival is coming up in a week?”

“Um… yes…”

“It’s a family festival.”

Iruka’s nervous heart plummeted. He remembered going to the Red Festival with his family when he was very young. He had made wish boats out of the red maple leaves and floated them down the stream. It had been his favorite festival of the year, what with the lovely fall colors and all the good food to eat. His family had been at its closest during the Red Festivals. At night his father would tell ghost stories and in the morning his mother would sing. All this… before the Nine Tails. Before…

“Naruto.”

“What?” Iruka looked up suddenly from where he had been staring at the table.

“I thought that would get your attention,” Kakashi said, a hint of a smile passing through his eyes. He shifted slightly against the booth. “Two of my students have no family to celebrate this festival with.” His tone was casual, but carried an undertone of deeper meaning.

“Naruto and Sasuke…”

Kakashi nodded and leaned forward. “A teacher is close to a parent, ne?”

Iruka blinked. “You want me to take them to the festival?”

“No, I want us to take them to the festival. As their parents.”

Iruka stared glumly at the boxes in front of him. They looked nothing like the wonderful food boxes that his mother used to make for the festival. His rice was clumpy and slightly too brown and each piece of sushi that he had tried to cut looked like someone stepped on it. Even the small pudding cups that he had labored over were spilling onto the other food. With a groan, Iruka let his head drop onto his arms. How on earth had Kakashi convinced him to be the “mother” in this situation?

Just then a loud knock sounded at the door. “SENSEEEEEEIIIIIII! FESTIVAL TIME!!”

Only one person in the village could be that loud and that annoying at seven thirty in the evening. Iruka crossed his kitchen and opened the door to greet exactly who he thought it was- Uzumaki Naruto. The blond boy stared up at him with one of his famous foxy grins. Amazingly enough, he wasn’t wearing his usual orange outfit. Instead, a dark blue kimono graced his young frame. It was complemented by a pale blue obi which matched his eyes. Obviously, Naruto had not picked out his own clothes. “Hello, Naruto.”

“Hi, Iruka-sensei.” The blond hopped into the house and bounced around a little. “Kakashi-sensei made me wear this but I think it looks stupid. He’s making Sasuke wear one, too. Sasuke’s wearing a white one. He’s going to get food all over it. Kakashi said if he was going to have to wear a kimono, so were we. You’re wearing one too, aren’t you? Blue is a really boring color, sensei. Did you make food for us?” By now, Naruto was peering into the little boxes of food. “Wow, you really suck.”

Iruka put his hand to his forehead and laughed a little. “Calm down, please…”

“Okay, I’m not really that excited, it’s just that I’ve never gone to the Red Festival before and Kakashi-sensei said we could make wishes and Sasuke was nervous about coming and there’s lots of good food to be eaten and they said we could get some ramen and yakiso-“

Fortunately for the mild-mannered teacher, another knock sounded on the door. He hastily excused himself and hurried over. Upon opening it, he found the remaining two of his party on his doorstep. Sasuke was wearing a very disgruntled expression and a white kimono with purple trim. To tell the truth, he looked absolutely stunning. But he was eclipsed by the man standing behind him.

Kakashi had always been good looking. But now, traditionally dressed in black and red, he looked magnificent. His usual bored attitude was replaced by a strange look of parental pride as he pushed his dark haired charge into the house. “Well, Iruka-sensei, are you ready to take our children to the festival?”

Iruka blushed deeply. “They aren’t our children…”

“Tonight they are.”

For some reason, this made butterflies run amok in his stomach. Our children… He had to grip the door frame to keep a hold on reality. Ah… this is why he could never be Jounin, even if he wanted to. His emotions were plain as day and they affected him much more than they should for a truly talented ninja. “Yes, for tonight…”

Kakashi turned and suddenly Iruka noticed that he wasn’t wearing his usual headpiece. Both eyes were visible and both were crinkled up in a smile. The rest of his face, however, was still covered in black cloth. “You still get to be the mommy, though.”

“A…aa…”

“Sensei!” An upset looking Naruto tugged on Iruka’s sleeve. “Can we go, please? I want to eat! Sasuke is being stupid. Let’s go! I want to leave!”

Kakashi backhanded his student lightly. “Calm down, Naruto. We’re going.”

“Ooooowww! Is that any way to treat your son on a festival night?” Naruto pouted.

“You’re not his child,” growled Sasuke.

“You’re both my children tonight!” Kakashi said, grinning and dragging the two into a hug that neither really wanted. He let them go and gathered Iruka to him. “And you’re my beautiful wife.” Cheekily, he planted a cloth covered kiss on the Chuunin’s forehead. “Ah, I love my family.” And, before anyone could protest, he skipped out the door. “Come on!”

The others followed him, the boys slightly grumpy and Iruka blushing brilliantly as he lugged the dinner boxes in the evening light. Outside, red lanterns had been hung along the streets along with large signs listing the events in different parts of the village. They had already decided on a destination, so Iruka didn’t even glance at the signs. Naruto and Sasuke on the other hand began to squabble about where to go first. Kakashi ended up smacking them both upside the head before they continued toward the picnic area.

“Sakuraaa-chaaan!” yelled Naruto as soon as they got there, waving at the pink haired girl. She waved back, smiled winningly at Sasuke, and then returned to the food she was sharing with her little sister.

Sasuke spread out the green striped blanket and they all plopped down on it, with the exception of Kakashi who excused himself to get some water. Iruka handed out the boxes to the boys and himself, setting a place for Kakashi beside him. They had set up next to the Inuzuka family who, as usual, had a grouping of various dogs around them. Akamaru sniffed his way over to Iruka and barked happily, wagging his little tail.

“Well, hello, Akamaru-kun,” Iruka said politely and scratched him behind the ears. Akamaru wiggled closer, smiling delightfully. Kiba also smiled and his eyes fazed a little as if he could feel his ears being scratched as well.

“Hey, sensei…”

“Kiba-kun.” Iruka smiled. “It’s good to see you here with all the family.” He gave Akamaru a final pat on the head and then sent him running back to his owner. “Even your older brother is here!”

“Yup!” Kiba grinned widely. “Everyone in my family!” Then his face took on a puzzled expression. “Iruka-sensei, why are you here? You never come to Red Festival. And Naurto and Sasuke are with you? What is going on?” He laughed a little. “Are you adopting them?”

“We’re his kids for the night,” Naruto stated, smiling broadly and flinging his arms around his former teacher. “He’s our mommy!”

“Na-Naruto!” Iruka turned red.

“It’s true, though,” Naruto said, responding to Kiba’s puzzled expression. “Kakashi is our daddy and Iruka is our mommy for the night.”

Kiba blinked several times and then nodded dumbly. He turned back to his family without another word, as Akamaru began to cheerfully chew on Komaru’s ear. The entire clan was here… though they were scattered throughout the crowd. Thus, several dogs would trot by each minute, carrying something for their masters or just roughhousing on the grass.

Kakashi returned just as a pair of puppies tumbled each other into the Inuzuka family’s food. “Water, anyone?”

Naruto grabbed for a bottle, while Sasuke reached for the same one. They fought over it for a bit, as expected, and then Sasuke ended up taking one of the remaining two bottles. Kakashi handed Iruka the last one. “You and I will be sharing tonight, my dearest wife.”

Iruka’s face couldn’t have been redder if he had tried. “Please don’t call me that, Kakashi-sensei…”

“Don’t call me sensei, then,” Kakashi replied. His eyelids lowered a little.

“What… should I call you?”

Kakashi was silent for a moment, his gaze still holding Iruka’s. Then, suddenly, both his eyes arced into a smile. “You can call me Beloved.”

That night was one of the most beautiful nights that the Hidden Leaf Village had ever seen. The stars peeked between the trees, and the full moon shone down brightly while fat red lanterns dispelled the darkness in places the natural light didn’t reach. People everywhere were smiling and talkative. Iruka personally felt that he hadn’t known life until this moment. Walking with Kakashi and his two quibbling students… eating dumplings off a stick… it was absolutely beautiful.

They spent at least an hour (and all of Naruto’s money) at a fish catching booth, waiting for Naruto to catch one of the wiggly goldfish. Sasuke took about three tries before getting his, and Naruto was not about to lose to his rival. When he finally did catch one, he managed to catch two at the same time. He dubbed them “cute” and carried them proudly in their plastic bag. Sasuke had already named his fish “Fish.”

The next hour they spent at various gaming booths. Sasuke won a large purple bear at a shuriken accuracy booth for those under fifteen. He claimed it was going to be a dummy for sparring, but Iruka could see the shine in his eyes when he held the soft bear to his side. Kakashi loudly claimed that he would win flowers for his wife at a weight guessing booth. And, to Iruka’s embarrassment, he ended up with a bunch of red carnations from the silver haired jounin. Naruto, too, won a small plastic frog at a shooting booth and tried to make his fish be friends with it. He had named it “Stupid” so that he could tell people “I’m with Stupid” whenever they asked if he was alone. Iruka tried a throwing game and won an alarm clock which shrilled “Good moooooorning!” quite loudly. He gave it to Kakashi.

Finally, they visited the food booths. Despite having just eaten, the two boys and Kakashi wolfed down food for at least three people and severely depleted both Iruka’s and Kakashi’s money. Naruto clambered for ramen, Sasuke’s sushi disappeared at an alarming rate, and Kakashi fairly wriggled at the mention of yakisoba. Iruka himself only took a few dumplings before following his still-munching companions back to their blanket.

They shooed away some of the Inuzuka’s dogs before settling down and waiting for the fireworks. Naruto fell against Sasuke, causing the dark haired boy to yell at him. Kakashi reached out and lifted Naruto into his lap, which caused even more excitement before they all settled down. Naruto was on his back, watching the sky, while Sasuke had propped himself up on his elbows. Kakashi leaned against Iruka as they waited patiently.

Some of the younger chuunins had been put in charge of the fireworks with an elder watching over them. Several of the families had been worried about this, but it seemed to work out even better than previous years. The sky soon was littered with brilliant reds and golds. Occasionally a blue or green firework was set off, but since it was the Red Festival- there were primarily warm colors.

Towards the end of the display, Iruka suddenly started. Kakashi had taken his hand and laced their fingers together. He leaned close to the dark haired man’s ear and said quietly, “Thank you, Iruka-sensei.” Iruka’s stomach filled with butterflies.

“Kakashi…sensei…” Iruka blushed deeply. “Kakashi… thank you. You were the one who thought of this. They look like they’re really having fun.”

“Are you having fun?”

“Aa….” Iruka turned so that he was facing the other man. “Yes. I am having a wonderful time.”

“I like you,” Kakashi said simply.

“Sensei!” cried Naruto, jumping onto Iruka and hugging him around his stomach. “Can I sleep at your house tonight?” He rubbed his cheek against the older man’s kimono. “Your house is soooooo coooooool….”

“Yes, Iruka. Let’s all sleep at your house.” Kakashi’s eyes seemed to rip holes in Iruka’s self-control. “Come on, Sasuke.”

They made their way back to the chuunin’s house and settled down for the evening, Naruto and Sasuke in the guest room, Iruka in his room, and Kakashi on the couch. In a few minutes, the boys had begun to snore. Iruka, on the other hand, lay awake.

He rolled over and over and then finally spread out all over the bed. Kakashi had said it. He had said… “I like you.” What did he mean by that? Did he mean “I like you because you’re a nice person?” Did he mean “I like you because you make worse rice than I do?” Did he mean “I like you because you also take care of Naruto?” Or did he mean… Iruka closed his eyes, not willing to think of it any more.

“I said, ‘I like you.’”

Iruka sat straight up and faced the intruder on his room. Kakashi stood in the doorway, his arms folded across his chest. The black kimono he was wearing slid down his shoulder. Iruka took a shaky breath. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…” Kakashi began, and then stopped. It took at least half a minute before he spoke again. “I mean that I want to know you. I had fun. You…” He moved across the room and perched on Iruka’s bed. “I think I’m attracted to you, too.”

“Ka-Kakashi?”

The silver haired shinobi moved closer and pressed his cloth-covered cheek to Iruka’s. “I want to get to know you. I want to date you. I want to be… I want to be with you.”

Iruka couldn’t say anything.

“I’ll wait. I’ll wait until I know you better. I…” Kakashi pulled away and took the other man’s hand in his own. “I’ll wait until you’re ready.” He stood up and then walked out, pausing at the door. “Iruka… you’re wonderful.”

“So are you…” Iruka whispered and smiled to himself. “So are you.”

End

Notes: If you want to review, that’s cool. If not, that’s cool, too. yawn I’m feeling Shikamaru-ish tonight…